


Stars Fell On Alabama

by ever_blue



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst, Band Fic, But needed, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Headcanon, Humor, M/M, Many more tags will be added, Probably many more relationships, Sexual Frustration, Singer!Eren, The Band AU no one wanted, guitarist!Levi, mean levi, slowbuild
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 04:59:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5484449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ever_blue/pseuds/ever_blue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren would have never thought that life would turn out the way it did. He's an art student in a normal college, leading a normal life, doing what normal college students do when suddenly a member from a local band, The Wings of Freedom notices him on a cover he did once and asks him to join them as their lead vocalist.</p><p>Enter Levi Akcerman. Hot, angry and yes, you guessed it. He hates Eren to the core because of... Reasons. </p><p>The young Jaeger is determined to show Levi not only is he, well, determined, but is more than meets the eye.</p><p>Life is <i>not</i> going as he planned.</p><p>(This will contain less and less about the band as time goes by.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Contact

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! Ugh, I've been on hiatus for almost a year AND I'M SO SO SO SO SORRY. This is my first ever SNK fic and I'm glad that it's ERERI because fuck, I love these dorks to hell. Anyway, do expect an update once a week (BECAUSE I AM FREE OF COLLEGE) and for this fic, Imma keep it nice and fun! There will be song references and stuff, but please do not judge me on my taste in songs okay :3 Also also also, I'm sorry but Levi will be a big ass (probably...) in the beginning (when is he never an ass?) and there might be initial Petra x Levi from the start. Just a small warning
> 
> I'm so happy to be writting again! Do let me know if there are any mistakes made, because this load of crap is not beta'd. Happy reading!

Eren would have never thought that life would turn out the way it did.

Getting into a normal college while both Armin and Mikasa were miles away in a prestigious, classy, high-end university which probably served Omelette Du Fromage ( _what the hell is that anyway?_ ) for every single meal and most likely a fucking Jacuzzi in their dormitories? Yeah, he sorta guessed it would turn out this way.  _‘Hey, at least I’m attending college, Jesus.’_

Majoring in Arts even though his long, long gone father had once insisted on him being a family doctor for the sake of tradition? Yeah, he’ll get an earful later if his dad ever decides to pop up. Eat shit, dad. Your son’s a rebel.

Getting his hamsters killed all because he had forgotten to put them back in their cages which resulted in Eren having to find singed and toasted balls of fur two weeks _after_ his graduation ceremony from Trost High? Well… life could be mean to him at times, but Marbles and Doughnut were dying anyway, so. No harm done there.

Crashing his Jean’s car? Yep. It was fate, no doubt about it. He’s definitely sure life wanted this to happen.

And no, he _doesn’t_ owe Jean anything, that horse faced dickwad.

He spends relatively most of his time on Netflix and chilling (by himself, mind you) in his apartment left by his mother who has passed on since he was fifteen and sometimes, if he’s feeling extra motivated, he will find it in his one quarter of a German heart to get some chores done, because he didn't think that he would ever make it into the Guinness Book of Records for having the worlds' grossest house ever. Chores being moving his pile of crap to another less obvious spot in the room, sweeping the floors with his fingers, washing the plates with a sponge without dish soap. 

He would also go on an occasional 'episode' where he would go on an artist's diarrhea with minimal sleep, food and human contact. Eren had to deal with his own college fees and thank the skies and above that he was able to apply for the full scholarship in the end. 

Oh, and he also likes uploading videos of himself singing to karaoke versions of songs (God forbid he takes up an instrument because no girls – or guys – would be able to resist Eren who has the looks, charm, artistic _and_ instrumental skills all at the same time) on his Facebook and YouTube accounts.

He has to give it to himself, though, because he is unlike the stereotypical cover maker who focuses more on the visual of the cover rather than the singing. People who are shit singers get their access to popularity and fame and sponsors because of the quality of their cover’s visual, not just because they have the voice which could rival the angels. Eren likes recording his singing with a well-used camcorder, and while the visuals are lacking –it’s just his face but that’s more than enough– he is pretty confident that he has the vocals.

The nineteen year old has posted plenty of songs on both his accounts and his most recent video of himself covering “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith has gotten more than four thousand likes, and he has like, what, 400 friends on Facebook? Which can be considered quite the achievement if he can say so himself.

Which brings him back to the matter at hand.

This Tuesday morning started out like any other: taming, or at least trying to tame his forever mop for hair, making a somewhat edible breakfast which consisted of day old bread and peanut butter (was that mold on it he saw?), picking out clothes to wear at random, making his bed and failing, getting ready for a dreadfully long day of college when his phone chimed, announcing he had a message from that Facebook’s Messenger app.

“Huh, Armin and Mikasa have morning lectures… who the hell could it be?” Mumbling to no one in particular, he munches on his burnt piece of toast while searching for his phone.

His first thought of action was to ignore it. Maybe he could read it after his classes or at night. _Or never_. It was probably some fan of his commenting on his covers, his good looks or some Jehovah’s Witness or whatever. Perhaps he should have waited until he was tucked in bed at night before deciding to open the damned message.

But life had other plans.

Sighing, the brunette stuffed the rest of his toast in his mouth and opened the message as if his instinct took over completely. He cocked his head to the side, seeing a single message sent by... Hanji? Zoe What kind of name is that? Anyway, he clicked on the chat head and the length of the message sorta turned him off. He had received enough fan-sent messages to be able to guess the content, and the beginning of the message already began to sound like those typical fan-girl comments.

Eren wanted to ignore it completely.

But he didn't.

Instead, he rubbed a palm across his face, dusting off the leftover crust of his toast. The brunette read through the message. Once. His eyes twitched.Twice. His mind was spinning. And on his eighth or ninth try reading the message did the words on the screen form connections and made sense in his brain.

He screamed a _very_ manly scream.

(And no, he did not flail.)

Eren’s legs were wobbly and his heart was lodged in his throat when picked up the phone he had tossed across the room (when did that happen?) and read it for the umpteenth time within those ten minutes. His smile creeping further and further up during the entire process and Eren is pretty sure he has never smile this wide in a very long time.

_“Hello Eren! I’m Hanji from a local band and I’ve watched a few of your covers! I and another member of mine had agreed that you have an AMAZEBALLS voice and we want you to join our band! You might have heard of us or maybe not lol because we’re not that famous yet. We are Wings of Freedom and we perform mostly in local bars and some summer music fests every now and then. If you are interested then can we meet up today? Like… at 12 noon-ish at Petra’s Deli? Do get back to me soon! :)”_

Sweet mother of all things holy. The brunette could not believe his luck. Of all people, he had managed to impress a member of Wings of Freedom? And better yet, not one, but two? Yeah, Eren’s heard of them, but only a few of their more popular numbers on the radio. They have pretty intense songs and don’t they already have a lead singer or something? He’s never seen them perform live though, but _WAIT SO AM I SUPPOSED TO DECIDE NOW NO I CANNOT DO THIS BUT THIS IS AN ONCE IN A LIFE TIME CHANCE I CAN’T JU-_

Ding!

_“EREN YOU ARE ONLINE HELLO THERE BEAUTIFUL CHILD”_

The brunette was holding up his phone in front of his face, and maybe he should lessen the grip on his phone but _shit_ , Hanji was online too and Eren had blue ticked her without a reply for 15 minutes. Great first impression, moron. Eren hated his inner conscience sometimes because it is right most of the time. (All of the time, okay?)

Nervously, he shot back a small reply, still unsure of his next move. His fingers did this dumb thing where they were shaky the entire process and _oh god I'm chatting with a member from a legitimate band why the fuck can't my fingers like, chill for a fucking second?_

_“hello Hanji :) Good morning." Fucking finally, you stupid excuse for fingers._

_“WHAT A SWEETHEARD oh my god was I too early? Am I interrupting your class?”_ The reply was instantaneous and the brunette took Hanji as a very morning person. Eren took a leap of faith and swiftly typed a reply, all the while battling his inner turmoil. _'I feel like taking a shit. Yeah, that's probably why my stomach hurts this bad.'_

_“sweetheart* and no, I don’t have classes.”_ Yet.

He was tying his shoe lace as he made his way out the door when his phone blew up with chiming and Eren nearly got a mini heart attack by this… Hanji’s enthusiasm. The chiming didn’t stop when he opened up the chat head, though. In fact, messages just came pouring in and was that regret Eren felt?  _“HAHAHA whoopsies you got me there and so eren are you free today? I would rather discuss the details with you in person”_

_“OH SHIT I haven’t asked if you were interested????”_

_“Eren YOU ARE THE ONE FOR OUR BAND”_

_“you’ll be paid well I psomise”_

_“promissey”_

_“PROMISE*”_

_“You’ll be famous too”_

_“Not that you aren’t famous already”_

_“BUT PLEASE WE NEED YOU.”_

_“At least meet up with me once before you say no :(((((“_

_“DON’T LEAVE ME HANGING EREN”_

Said person huffed, eyebrows knotted in slight annoyance. On one hand, he really, really wanted to flip Hanji off and to tell her to give him time to think this over. Eren, despite what Jean thinks, has _some_ sense of self-awareness and the teen is highly aware that he's imprudent and tends to act based on emotions. This might turn out to be a scam, but he's been scammed before, and Hanji seems really genuine about their requests. But then again, what was the worse which could happen were he to say yes? Should he talk about this opportunity of a lifetime with his parents? Oh wait, he didn’t have any. There was Mikasa he could talk to, but Eren knows her too well; she’d become the over protective mother he never wanted. Armin would probably say that his advices on Eren would go to waste (and Armin is _never_ wrong.)

Guess he’s on his own for this one.

Well, there should be no problem with giving in to at least one of Hanji’s request, but this was a teensy too much for Eren to decide within two hours. Meeting her –he guessed Hanji was a her –would mean skipping class, but let’s face it; it wasn’t as if he was a person to study in classes anyway, preferring to do last minute cramming for exams instead. Professor Hannes would understand, though.  

Ding!

_“Eren, you there?”_

He sighed.

_“I’ll meet you at noon, then :)”_ he typed and press sent.

Please let this not be life’s way of saying _‘fuck you’_ today.

 

\--

 

He stepped into Petra’s Deli noon on the dot, and his senses were temporarily assaulted by the smells wafting out of the quaint restaurant; customers here definitely came here for the ambiance as much as they came for the food. Although the interior was small, it was very craftily and minimally decorated, and a soft jazz music was playing throughout the place, making the entire shop warm and _inviting_. He could hear his empty stomach churning at the smell of some vegetable soup and thank the stars; he was able to stop himself before he moaned out loud. The last meal he had here was a week before Armin’s departure to Maria University, which was about a month back. And the last _real_ meal he had was yesterday afternoon which consisted of two poptarts and canned soup. Eren could _feel_ the diabetes in him already.

Fortunately, today’s weather was nice enough for Eren to have walked to the deli instead of taking a cab, all clouds and summer breezes. It’s almost autumn and the brunette made a mental note to prepare warmer clothes for the drop in temperature. Speaking of which, he was dressed in a plain white shirt with a green short sleeved button up, along with the tightest pair of black jeans he owned – _dress to impress,_ aye? The brunette even brushed his teeth twice and tried to tame his hair before his departure, and this time he somewhat managed to get his unruly locks look properly combed. It was better than meeting up with Hanji in a pair of worn slacks and some disgusting T-shirt with mustard stains and bird's nest hair.

A couple of waiters greeted him upon the chime that announced his arrival, to which Eren nodded in his own small greeting. As he walked deeper inside he craned his neck looking around the deli for a young brunette lady after having checked on her profile that Hanji was indeed a lady and also a legit bassist for the Wings of Freedom and _oh my god Eren_ stop _hyperventilating and ew your palms are sweaty damnit it’s just a meeting Jesus you can say no if you don’t want the offer but I want that offer –_

“EREN, IS THAT YOU?”

As if on cue, the brunette was attacked- no, hit with the force of a racing one ton truck and Eren swore he could hear his rib cage shatter. The air was forcefully pushed out of his lungs and for a moment, he could see stars. Then all he was able to see was a mob of brown and tacky glasses and Eren was forcefully shaken out of his stupor to be crushed into a bear hug so tight his balls ached.

“Hanji, I think that’s enough shaking for now, you may or may not have damaged Eren and it's barely been a minute,” said a smooth, molten voice behind said brunette.

“But Erwin, this boy is just so perfect I could-”

“Yes we know, now do let us introduce ourselves properly before we damage him any further, Hanji.”

With that, he was released from Hanji’s hold and his world was once again in line. The first thing he noticed was Hanji’s face a little too close to his and his second thought was that this woman _clearly_ _does not understand the meaning of personal space_. Even though they’ve literally only just met, Hanji was all around Eren like a childhood friend and had been separated for the longest time. The teenage boy all but blurted out a “hello Hanji, n-nice to meet you,” before someone strong used both their hands to clasp onto his shoulder (did Hanji mention that she was bringing others as well?) forcing him to spin around to meet his new captor with a small, but definitely audible yelp.

_Kill me now._

Said captor was six feet of delicious, gorgeous and blonde, with blue eyes like but unlike Armin at the same time, deeply set behind God's nose with stress line and crow's feet and eyebags, and the brunette wondered if Hanji was the cause for all of it. Six feet of handsome was boring into Eren’s own emeralds, calculative and warm and the brunette could feel the authoritativeness in him. It sent chills up his spine. 

_Damn, I would ride him in a seco-_

No, damnit, we definitely do not need to sprout unnecessary boners.

“I apologize for Hanji’s behaviour. I am Erwin, manager and sometimes pianist for the band. It’s a pleasure, Eren.” Gorge- no, Erwin was holding out a hand for Eren to shake, which the latter returned with a firm shake of his own after hesitating a moment too long, along with a small “A pleasure to meet you, Sir.”

“Strong, firm shake. And just call me Erwin. I like you already, Eren.” That silken baritone sent his nerves jumping and the brunette could only answer with a small smile. Eren could feel Hanji beaming on his left, and true to his suspicions, the hyperactive lady was already bouncing up and down while ranting in some weird gibberish rapid fire with an energy that could rival a five year old. 

“Tch, four-eyes, shut the hell up.”

A third voice - really? Another one? - appeared him along with the chime of the bell, near the entrance of the Deli. The brunette realized that even Hanji had stopped and had turned towards this new comer. And this time around Eren was glad he was able to meet the owner of the voice first before the owner decides to push and pull on him like a rag doll. But when he turned around to the new voice, he lost his train of thoughts. As if he had any to begin with.

Life was _unfair_.

To Eren, at least.

Erwin chuckled behind him, jolting Eren from his mesmerized daze.

“Levi, glad you could make it.”

This new person was short, much shorter than the average man but that is okay. It is definitely okay because fuck Eren sideways, literally, because if he had wanted to bend over for Erwin, he would kneel and beg for this newcomer to do unholy things to him because fuck, he was hot. _Hot_ , hot.

Damn, he never even knew he had a type.

 

Eren knew he was gaping shamelessly at this man, now announced as Levi, awestruck and he think he might be drooling because hell, this man was wearing the tightest midnight blue sweater ever along with the tightest pair of shredded black ass-hugging jeans Eren has ever seen. The only thing that was bright on this guy was the few silver piercing that adorned his left ear and the D&G belt with the silver buckle and the brunette feels embarrassingly underdressed already. Eren could tell that Levi was looking at him through those full-rimmed sunglasses, but he couldn’t find it in himself to stop staring.

How could a person so short be so intimidatingly _attractive?_

“Levi! What did I tell you? He looks better in person, doesn’t he? I bet he sounds better in person too!”

Eren could feel a blush coming along, but from Levi’s gaze or from Hanji’s praise, he wasn’t so sure anymore. He chewed on his lower lip, waiting for some sort of answer from the man in question. It felt like an eternity later when Levi spoke again, this time with a hurtful, sharp tone, and he was just downright _glaring_ at Eren now after sliding his sunglasses lower. The teen could feel something burning in his stomach, but he realized that the fire inside him was the same fire he felt that had lead him to fist fights too late because Levi scoffed and had the actual audacity to click his tongue at him. 

“Let’s see what you can do then, brat.”


	2. I thought I heard you call my name.

Eren was not fuming in rage – he was too much of a gentleman for that. No, he made very sure that Levi _knew_ that his anger was directed at him, no one else. He made sure to politely ignore the fuck out of the short man (no point in subtlety now) whenever he asked a question directed at him, pretending that something else in the distance caught his attention. Hell, everything in the room seemed to want to offer the brunet their companionship more than this midget sitting to his right at this ridiculously square table.

To add to the fire, Eren made sure he put on his best smile whenever Hanji or Erwin talked to him and fuck, he should have went for Theatrical Art instead. He made sure that his smile remains dazzling to the point passer-by’s would stop and stare, and that his eyes sparkled and all that shit, just for the hell of it because Levi fucking sucked balls.

It started with the ‘brat’ calling thing which Eren chose to completely ignore, and after being seated by an overly friendly waiter named Petra, Levi scowled at him and rolled his eyes dramatically to the point it looked painful whenever Hanji or Erwin talked to Eren. Even though they were technically sitting side by side, the raven made sure to inch further away from him. The brunet had even blushed furiously and prayed to all things holy that it wasn’t because he had bad breath or body odour. Levi then commenced giving him the cold shoulder whenever Eren tried to politely speak to him. The key word here being “tried.”

The brunet was abashed at this man’s honest dislike towards him, because what the flying fuck? You don’t just hate on someone you’ve literally just met. Even though he knew he wasn’t all that likeable, the teen couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe Levi is trying to scare him off in order to protect him because Hanji is trying to swindle and bribe Eren into something he shouldn’t be a part of.

But he already knew that that wasn’t the case.

Hanji and Erwin seemed really genuine and passionate about their musical career. Heck, Erwin even gave him a weak smile as an apology after noticing how Levi had clicked his tongue after Eren had tried to initiate conversation with the raven.

Eren then noticed how the short-stuff often gave him a once over (with that stupid scowl) while sipping his tea. Who does this motherfucker thinks he is? Does he have to take out sixty years of pent up anger on Eren, out of all the people he can choose to be rude to?

_‘Hey, it’s not like I wanted to be in your field of vision, but since your friends oh-so kindly asked me to be the lead singer of your band, you’re gonna have to deal with me a whole lot more, short stuff.’_

Things turned to the worse when he started occasionally adding in insults here and there like “your hair looks gross” and “I bet you didn’t shower today. Gross fucking college students,” and Eren’s personal favourite, “doesn’t your momma teach you how to iron your clothes properly?”

Oh, _wow_. By golly.

Now, normally Eren would take those insults, bathe and bask in them, and shove them back down the insulters’ throat with added fuel, but that last one really did it. Heck, he was never once rude to Levi but yet he was sitting here getting insulted like some deranged mutt. Something inside him snapped, but he wasn’t feeling the bloodlust that normally comes with a bicker. Eren collected himself, noticed how Levi’s face was scrunched up in a sneer. He knew exactly in that moment what he felt towards the man.

It was _hate._

While every ounce and being of Eren screamed at him to retort and do something about it, to defend his honour, his _mother_ , but because he was a gentle-fucking-man, he didn’t. For once, anger didn’t consume him; it gave him a clear path on what he should be doing.

This brings him back to the present.

Here he was, smiling like Levi never existed while chatting up Hanji and Erwin with bedazzlement that could rival the stars. They were on the topic of the best indie bands and biggest hits from the 90’s, and Hanji was slurping down her pasta like nothing Eren’s seen before (it honestly put him off from his own lasagne, but no one needed to know) when Levi spoke loudly, shocking even his two companions into silence, probably to make sure that everyone within a mile’s radius could hear him.

“Petra, sweetheart, would you mind refilling my tea, please?”

As the waitress made her way over, Hanji beamed like she finally cracked open the Da Vinci’s code, Eren noticed. And what’s more confusing was that Erwin’s lips were pulled into a thin line, his face looking extremely constipated.

“Is there something wrong?” The brunet asked as Petra made her way over.

Hanji had this dreamy look in her eyes when she cupped her face while answering. “Oh, no reason Eren.”

“There’s nothing for you to be worried about,” tall-and- _oh-I-want-his-dick_ answered with a small shake of his head. He smiled at Eren for a brief moment before Petra finally reached their table.

Eren sighed to himself – today was not going the way he had planned.

He scooped up another bite of lasagne, about to ask how Hanji had stumbled across his covers when he realized the mini display to his right.

Petra, the strawberry blonde with amazing eyes had wrapped her arms around Levi’s neck in what seemed like an embrace while whispering in his pierced ear. What’s more shocking, however, is how Levi was cupping her cheeks sweetly without looking at her, lips curved up into a smirk.

Eren choked on his lasagne and dropped his spoon loudly, earning himself Levi’s glare of death which could kill approximately two bunnies and Hanji’s laugh.

“Shut up, four-eyes. You’re disturbing the customers,” Levi drawled, still holding Petra awkwardly in place.

“Levi, oh dear. I didn’t even know you had it in you!”

“Tch. Come Petra, let’s head to your office.”

With that, Levi pushed himself away from the table and stood up; pulling the petite lady behind him in what Eren guessed was the ‘office.’

“Well then!” Hanji exclaimed after the pair was out of sight, forcing Eren to realize that he was staring after them both. “Since Levi is gonna get down to the nitty gritty while we’re around, I guess we’ll just have to settle the business ourselves. Erwin, the paper works, if you may.”

“Wait,” Eren paused. Was it any of his business to ask about Levi’s relationship? It was obvious that Levi didn’t like him, and vice-versa, but if he were to become a member of their band, they would have to tell him everything, right? “Are they in a relationship?”

Erwin opened his mouth like he was about to say something when Hanji interrupted him with a “YES THEY ARE PUMPKIN.”

Now Eren was confused. “And you’re alright with them…doing the _‘nitty-gritty’_ here? Right now? While interviewing me?”

The blond cleared his throat before speaking, his eyes mentioning the brunette to pipe down. “Well, they’ve been in a relationship for the past year and a half, and Levi was the one who bought this shop for Petra to start her own business. He’s technically the co-owner of this place. Whatever he decides to do here, it’s his decision.”

Okay, now Eren was definitely shocked. Levi bought this _entire_ fucking shop for Petra? Wow, he must be pretty loaded. But then again, perhaps even the raven had a soft side to him that Eren wouldn’t know of. _Pssh, yeah right._

Hanji grinned ear to ear. “But he’s never acted like this before. We’ve known Levi the longest, and-”

“What he chooses to do is his decision,” Erwin ended the topic at hand just like that.

The brunet gulped. There was this odd tension filling the air, and he decided to break it with a “you said something about paperwork?”

Immediately the blond softened his gaze and turned to his messenger case. “Oh yes, I forgot.” He pulled out a single sheet of paper which Eren presumed that it is time for the ‘Terms and Agreements,’ but his mind is filled to the brim with what Levi and his girlfriend might be up to. The way Hanji had placed it, and being the college student he is, his imagination brought him to places he doesn’t want to be, especially when the thoughts are about a _stranger, oh my god. Stop thinking about them fucking over the counter for fuck’s sa-_

“So Eren, we still haven’t gotten your answer,” Hanji said, breaking him from his stupor yet again.

“Huh? My what?” _Oh my god just let me die._

“Your answer, sweetie! Wait, why are you blushing like a-”

Eren’s eyes widened, slamming his palm on the table.

“No! I mean yes! My answer is yes.” He looked down again; hoping his outburst didn’t offend them in any way. “If you’ll have me, of course.”

That seemed to stop the brunette from questioning him any further, and before he could look up, Hanji-the-one-ton-truck made her way over and pulled him into the second death grip for that day.

“HELL YEAH!” She yelled right beside his ear, causing the brunette to go momentarily deaf. “Thank you so much, Eren! This means the world to us!” Hanji released him before placing her hands firmly on his shoulders. “I promise we won’t let you down.”

Before he had the chance to ask what that was supposed to mean, Erwin placed the paper into his hands along with a pen.

“This is just the agreement form along with payment options. Since you are already 19 and legal, I will regard you as a fully capable adult of making his own decisions. Of course, if you are already regretting your decision or still need time to think this through, you can-”

“No,” Eren blurted out, eyes widening as he realized that he had spoken out of line again. Heck, to hell with it. He will speak his mind. “No, I want to do this. I’m not doing this out of pity or for the money or whatever, but I really do think that this is a great opportunity to not only learn, but I can prove myself to everyone.”

_‘Especially that fucking hobbit.’_

Erwin chuckled a deep, heart-felt chuckle. “Thank you, Eren. I know we may not be the best band in town, and we might not be the best people to be in a band with, but we want you to know that we will accept you as family and I personally guarantee that you’ll survive through this.” He noticed how Eren stiffened at the horribly put words before continuing.

“Now, I know that we have talked on your time management, but do keep in mind that as easy as it sounds, balancing out school work and band practices can be difficult.” Oh, how Eren knows. I mean, school work is already a bitch on its own, but he’ll manage… somehow. “There will be double the stress, double the work load, and that means less sleep and if you procrastinate you might get no sleep at all. You seem like a fine young man, dependable and smart.”

Eren hopes that this man who is flat-out complementing him doesn’t notice how his cheeks had been set on fire. Erwin pauses, exhales, and continued. “This will help with your living costs grandly; since you’re already on full scholarship, you will have extra money to spend. If, of course, you manage to pass the trial week.”

“Uhh… I’m sorry, what’s the trial week about?”

This time it was Hanji who answered. “It’s basically your apprenticeship week. We will have everyone from the band to keep an eye out for you and make sure to analyse your potential as our new recruit. And once you get approval from each member, you’re considered an official member then.”

The brunet gulped; the way she had said it made the ‘Wings of Freedom’ sound like they were recruiting trainees. From what Eren had learned, they have auditioned a few others and none of them made it because it had been always Levi who would make the final decision. While the blond was the manager, Levi seemed more like the boss of them than the guitarist of the band.

Well, Hanji had also explained that the raven was the previous lead singer so he doesn’t want a crappy half-assed punk to take his role. She had also mentioned once or twice about how Levi wasn’t a people person from the start anyway, advising him to not take whatever he had said to heart.

_'Well, fuck, mom. This short guy made fun of you but he doesn’t mean it so I hope you’re not sneezing up there.’_

Eren must have been holding his fork too tightly since the brunette had to place a hand on his to loosen his grip. “Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as it seems. While our short-pumpkin gets the last say, I am absolutely sure he will want you…” Erwin sent her a glare, and Hanji continued with “as our lead singer, of course!”

He chuckled, unsure of what to say so he settled with “I look forward to working with all of you.”

While he was unsure whether he would be able to get Levi’s approval, he would do his best for now as the recruit. There’s nothing to lose, and if he gets it, Eren would be soon rolling in dough, but if he doesn’t, well…

Life goes on?

Hanji squealed, obviously very happy with his answer even though it was a half-assed one. He was then given a form to fill; just the mandatory house address, work qualifications and emergency contacts. He doesn’t notice how Erwin’s expression hardened when he did not fill out the ‘parents/guardian’ section.

From the corner of his eyes he could see Levi walking back towards them (wow, that’s definitely what they call a quickie. It’s been like, what, 13 minutes?) with Petra, who was furiously blushing hand-in-hand on the way to their table, only to part in the middle where Petra had to go manage the counter. Eren was definitely not noticing how his shirt has been slightly wrinkled and less neat. He most definitely does not meet those stupid grey eyes that he would gladly gouge with the fork he’s still holding.

Once Levi all but plops himself in his previous seating, Hanji did the honours of explaining how Eren had said yes to being a trial member. Eren could feel a vein popping when the other scoffed, but Erwin cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention again.

“Eren, since you’ve agreed, do you want to go through an audition to, what you youngsters call, ‘officiate things’”?

“W-wait, now? Here?”

“No, shitty brat. You can audition when I hit the bucket. Seriously, do you people really enjoy stating the obvious? Is it some kind of disease or something?”

Despite the fact that his heart was racing, he couldn’t help but frown at what the shorter man had said, a dangerous heat bubbling in his stomach. Honestly, who the fuck insults someone with “shitty brat?”

The brunet chose to ignore him completely. “Sure, I’ll do it.”

Hanji smiled an earnest smile and nodded towards the other side of the restaurant where there was a small stage Eren had not noticed before. As he was about to get up and ask Hanji whether or not should he sing a song karaoke style or just vocals, Erwin nodded at Levi, who in turn rolled his eyes. _How the fuck isn’t he rolling his eyes out of his head yet._

“Fuck you, eyebrows. You owe me _big time_ ,” Levi said, getting up of his seat to walk towards the stage when he turned behind again, looking directly at Eren with those hard grey eyes. “Well, what are you waiting for? A written invitation?”

Eren stared wide eyed, unsure of what’s happening when Erwin explained casually with a “Levi will be playing guitar to accompany your singing.”

_Fan-fucking-tastic._

Standing up to walk behind the short man who was clearly running out of patience, he was sure he heard the blond mutter “ _break his leg, Eren._ ”

What the fuck?

As they were nearing the small rectangular stage with two stools and two lonesome mic stands, Levi glanced behind.

“What song do you want to sing?”

Eren could have laughed at how nice the raven sounded when the reality of the situation dawned on him. Stage fright struck his nerves, causing his palms to turn all clammy on him. “I-I can sing anything from the 2000’s. Preferably, songs by bands.”

They were by the side of the stage now where Hanji was setting up the mics and what Eren assumed to be Levi’s guitar. “Maroon five okay with you, kid? I can play all their songs. Except for their newest electronic pop shit.”

“O-okay. How about…Lost Stars?” It was one of Eren’s favourite song of Adam Levine, and he has practiced this song enough times to know that he won’t screw up.

“Hn. Good choice.” Wow, was Levi really trying to be nice to him? It felt so…surreal. “But if you fuck up the lyrics you’ll have to clean the floor with your tongue.” Nope, still rude as the first one hour since he’s met him.

Hanji catapults herself off the stage, nearly landing into the midget when he was able to dodge her with a straight face, as if already expecting it.

“The stage is ready for the king and his queen.”

“Leave now, Hanji, and I just might not kill you today.”

Instead, said brunette turns to Eren instead, giving him a squeeze on his shoulder as encouragement. “Put on a good show, Jaeger! Show them what you’re made of!” She said with a wink in the end and a slap to his butt, making him yelp embarrassingly loud. “That’s for good measure and boy, you have a great a-”

“C’mon, ‘Jaeger.’ You better not screw this up.”

As Eren went up the short stage he thanked the deities that there weren’t many customers left. His chest was hammering so hard he could barely breathe. He sat on the stool to the right of the stage while Levi took his place next to him, bringing his beautiful Spanish guitar on his lap, tuning it for good measure. Eren wasn’t sure what to do so he tapped into the mic to make sure that the volume was appropriate.

“Oi, brat. Are you okay with this key?”

Levi strummed a set of strings, and Eren nodded, grinning to himself as he did. The starting note was 2 keys lower than the original song and that was the version of it he liked the most, and it went well with his voice.

And… as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, Levi looked hella hot with his guitar.

Especially the way his alabaster skin contrasts with the smooth, rich brown of the guitar, the way his hair falls perfectly across his face, and -

Eren didn’t notice that he was staring until the guitarist cleared his throat. His eyes snapped back to the audience, mainly Hanji and Erwin who were smiling like lunatics. He smiled at them again before turning to Levi who was also staring at him now, and nodded. The brunet licked his lips and picked up his mic.

If only he noticed how Levi had stared after the motion of his tongue sweeping across his lips.

The elder man started off with a slow strum, fingers strumming up and down so softly Eren was immediately captivated into the flow of the music. When Levi glared at him as a signal that he would have to start, Eren closed his eyes, and sung in a sweet tenor, slightly shaky from not having warmed up his voice or more time to adjust to this PA system.

 _‘Please don't see_  
_Just a boy caught up in dreams and fantasies._  
_Please see me_  
_Reaching out for someone I can't see.’_

As he peeked at the crowd, he noticed how he had gotten the attention of every soul in the shop. Hanji looked as she was about to cry already. Here, he has gotten less shaky now, but the uneasiness in his stomach still hasn’t gone away. He continues without missing a beat to Levi’s strum.  
  
_‘Take my hand, let's see where we wake up tomorrow_  
_Best laid plans sometimes are just a one night stand_  
_I'll be damned, Cupid's demanding back his arrow_  
_So let's get drunk on our tears.’_

After finishing the verse, Eren opened his eyes again once he heard clapping in front of him. The crowd seemed so be immersed in his singing, thank the fairies. Before he reached the chorus, he adjusted himself on the stool so that he was facing Levi more now. What he didn’t expect when he looked up was that Levi held the mic close to his own lips, glancing at Eren with a reassuring nod.

Eren’s heart, for the lack of better terms, skipped a fucking beat.

Levi was going to sing? With him? Without any practice?

 _‘No time to think now,’_ he thought as they entered the chorus together, with Levi harmonizing the brunet in a warm baritone of his own, catching him off guard.

 _‘And God, tell us the reason youth is wasted on the young_  
_It's hunting season and the lambs are on the run_  
_Searching for meaning_  
_But are we all lost stars_

_Trying to light up the dark?’_

Their voice filled the entire restaurant, and Eren couldn’t find the right words to describe how…nice their voice fits together. Well, yeah, it was far from perfect, but _damn_ Levi seriously knows how to harmonize and _sing_. This is nothing like the two songs the Wings of Freedom has written Eren has heard on Youtube on his way here.

The elder man was strumming with a certain grace he could never achieve even if he practiced for twenty years. Now Eren’s concentration was fully on Levi’s figure as they entered the next part of the song together with the brunet singing the higher keys and Levi harmonizing as if he has been practicing this song all his life.

 _‘Who are we?_  
_Just a speck of dust within the galaxy?_  
_Woe is me_  
_If we're not careful turns into reality._

 _But don't you dare let our best memories bring you sorrow_  
_Yesterday I saw a lion kiss a deer_  
_Turn the page, maybe we'll find a brand new ending_  
_Where we're dancing in our tears.’_

By now, the whole room was clapping, even the workers there. Eren was now full-out grinning, all signs of butterflies gone and thrumming his fingers lightly against his thigh in tune with the flow of the song. He dared another glance at Levi who was so immersed in his performance it was like he forgot the room was occupied by others. His brows were furrowed but his face wore a passionate expression. Their eyes met.

In that fraction of a second, he could swear that Levi smirked at him.

And in that fraction of a second, the world slowed down to just the both of them.

Eren’s never felt so alive.  
  
_‘And God, tell us the reason youth is wasted on the young_  
_It's hunting season and the lambs are on the run_  
_Searching for meaning_  
_But are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?’_

Eren knew the climax of the song was next. Although he wasn’t able to hit the notes the original singer had, he was still confident he could nail it in Levi’s lower key version of it. He felt a gaze on him, and true enough, the shorter man was still giving him that glare/look as if trying to convey ‘are you ready for this?’

Eren was born ready for the next part.

Giving his own smirk, he grabbed the mic with both hands before singing.

 _‘And I thought I saw you out there crying_  
_And I thought I heard you call my name_  
_And I thought I heard you out there crying_  
_Just the same.’_

He nailed it note by note, pitch by pitch and his crowd, although small, went wild (was that Hanji screaming in the background?) Out of all his years of singing for fun, he has never felt such a big sense of achievement, period. Deep down, he knew Levi didn’t sing that part with him not because he didn’t think it was possible to harmonize it, but he didn’t want to steal Eren’s spotlight.

Way too proud of his job well done, he nudged Levi’s thigh without thinking to urge him to sing with him. The action seemed to have startled the both of them; Levi nearly lost grip on the neck of the guitar and Eren stiffened visibly. Those steely grey eyes rolled and eventually, they went back to the stoic neutral.

God, how can Eren be so impulsive?

The duo continued singing and ended their performance without a hitch. Eren smiled at the audience’s applause, giving Levi a goofy, worn-out grin before standing up and thanking the audience before returning the mic. He waited for Levi as the other placed the guitar back on the holder and step off the stage like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Damn. Is this how getting star struck felt?

As they made their way back to their seats, Eren stopped a waiter and ordered a root beer float with the works. They were almost nearing their table when he felt a hand grab his shirt.

“Hey! Are you Eren from the Jaegermeister channel?!” A girl screamed when he turned around to face his captives. They were probably just college students as well.

Eren smiled, unsure of what to do. He has never engaged his fans in real life like this before. “I, um. Yeah?”

Now that got the two girls screaming on top of their lungs. The star of the day had to shush them after receiving warning glares from surrounding customers.

“Your singing is really, really nice! I’ve been watching your videos since forever!”

“Can we take a picture w-with you?”

“Sure?”

 

\--

 

A few pictures later with a whole lot more of fans where that came from, Eren finally got to plop his tired ass down on his seat. Hanji grabbed his arm point two seconds later to lavish him with more compliments, but the brunet was too drained to even pull his arm back.

Levi was sipping his tea while reading his phone (who the fuck holds a teacup like that?) and Erwin pat his other shoulder.

“You guys complement each other very well, and if I didn’t know better, I would have assumed that you two have been singing together for a long time. So, Eren, what do you think?”

The question put him in a daze. What does he think of what? The performance? Singing in front of a crowd? With Levi?

“I liked it a lot. I wanna do it more often.”

Blond and masculine seemed very pleased with his answer and smiled.

“I will send you our practice schedule tonight. You’ll have more opportunities to practice your singing and with the rest of the band.”

“Wait, Levi is a great singer. Why am I replacing him? Is he retiring or something?”

Levi crashed his cup down on to the saucer (which quite literally made Eren jump out of his own skin), rubbing his temples with his other hand.

“No one’s fucking retiring here, you dolt. Eyebrows thinks that with two singers we can branch out to more genres of music. Don’t even think of replacing me at your level. You have ways to go yet, Jaeger.”

“Aww,” Hanji coos before the hurt could register in Eren’s mind. “What Levi meant to say was that you’re good, but could still need more practice. Right, Levi?”

“Hn.”

“See, you guys will get along just fine!”

Eren chuckles bitterly. _‘I honestly don’t think so.’_

“In fact, it’s been years Levi agreed to sing with anyone let alone do a-”

“Are you really this eager on dying early, glasses?”

“Whoops! My bad.”

Eren’s root beer float was then served, interrupting the bicker. He greedily takes a big sip from the straw, relishing the cold and the smooth creamy flavour from the ice cream. The sugary concoction was doing wonders to his body. Did he just moan? Well, too late to hold back now.

As he continued sipping, he noticed how Levi grimaced at the pace of Eren chugging down his delicacy or the drink itself, he wasn't sure. 

“Do tell, brat. How does diabetes taste like?”

Eren contemplated the question for a moment before grinning around his straw.

“Pretty sweet, if you ask me.”

He definitely doesn’t spew the drink from his mouth when Levi grimaces even further at his joke or at Hanji’s soundless laughter, or Erwin’s constipated look from having to hold his chuckle in.

The day was turning out better than he thought.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for being more than late for this update! I'm really, really sorry, I will give absolutely no excuses/reasons for my hiatus from this chapter.
> 
> Well, what do you guys think?
> 
> For more riren and riren related stuff, go to my [tumblr](http://elany-maxx.tumblr.com/) instead! Also, to get a feel of how their singing is like, check out this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTEMXbu7ov0) (except perhaps change the girl's voice to Eren's seiyuu's voice okay hahhahah)
> 
> Will update this within two weeks! This time, i promise :)

**Author's Note:**

> So cold, Levi ;_; So what did ya'll think? The more kudos and comments this gets the faster the update because I'm an attention whore like that. Do forgive my tenses and oh, do you guys want a Levi POV as well? I wanted to ask for opinions first before starting on my next chapter :3 
> 
> See ya'll next week!


End file.
